And I Heard Your Heart Beating in the Darkness Too
by cocoalover1956
Summary: When single mother Emma Swan finds her soulmate in the form a handsome prince, she becomes convinced that the universe is screwing with her. If only her kid weren't so attached to this guy. captain cobra swan. modern royalty au. soulmate au.
1. Chapter 1

"Momma," Henry rasped, "I can't breath."

Reluctantly, Emma loosened her grip. "Sorry honey. It's just... you're in kindergarten now... and you're not a little baby anymore." She had always thought the phrase "they grow up so fast" was ridiculous (from her perspective growing up took forever) until she had a kid herself. Hard to believe the tiny baby in the NICU incubator was already starting his first day of school. "Remember to let your teacher know about your condition, alright? I don't want you hurting your lungs."

"Yes Momma." he nodded obediently.

Emma gave him one more kiss on the cheek before sending him off on his way. Then came that familiar feeling of hollow sadness every time Henry hit a milestone, leaving Emma to wonder what it was like to have a parent standing next to you for them. Her first day of kindergarten was one of her first clear memories: her foster sisters had gotten her ready for school since their foster mother was too hungover to do so. She watched for a few more minutes as Henry's little brown head and royal blue uniform melted into the crowd in hyperactive kids.

It had rained earlier that morning, leaving the pavement slick and the air misty. She shoved her hands in her thin coat's pockets, breathing in the fresh, gentle scent of petrichor. Henry attended a private school in a nicer part of Boston, a sharp contrast to the grimy, graffiti-covered neighborhood her salary kept them in. Here, there was no overflowing trash, no giant rats scurrying about, no untrustworthy-looking men stalking around when she got off her shift at two in the morning.

What she wouldn't give to be able to offer her son a better life. Maybe she should have gone through with the adoption.

Her sunshine-yellow Volkswagen bug sat on the pavement, bright against the grey morning. Miraculously, the tough little thing still ran well and didn't need any repairs. And thank heavens for that; she already had Henry's medication and tuition draining her bank account. Emma noticed a small group of people standing around near her car, two men and one woman. She did her best to ignore them.

Halfway into the driver's seat, one of the men called out to her in a light, English-accented voice. "Excuse me miss, but my friends and I are in need of some directions."

Emma sighed deeply and looked over her shoulder. She stared straight at the darker-haired man, the one who had apparently spoken, his bright blue eyes meeting with hers for just a second. Her heart felt like someone had detonated several tons of TNT inside it. Emma let out a yelp of pain, kneeling over and clutching her chest. The pain vanished as quickly as it appeared. She raised her head.

"You're...you're..." The man was unable to get a coherent sentence out. He just stood there rubbing his chest, staring at her like she just descended from heaven on a golden throne. Behind him his two companions exchanged smiles.

Cringing, Emma slipped into her seat, slammed the door shut, hit the gas, and tried to ignore the shocked cry of "Wait! What are you doing?!"

She knew she probably couldn't avoid him forever; soulmates had a knack for finding each other. And given their lack of physical contact it would soon be clear to everyone that she had meet but hadn't touched her soulmate. Who thought up that system?

And it wasn't as though Henry needed another person coming into their lives. They were getting by fine, just the two of them.

 _Screw soulmates_ , she thought bitterly.

After a while Emma pulled into the employee parking lot of the office. On weekdays she worked as a receptionist in the headquarters of a fancy make-up company, which didn't pay her enough to afford their product; on weekends she waitressed at an all-night diner. As she stepped out of her car, a faint but noticeable red light pulsed from her chest, perfectly in tune with her heartbeat. She let out an irritated groan.

People would stare. People would ask questions. People would get that awkward look on their faces that said they wanted to stare or ask questions but didn't want seem nosy. Emma thought back to an urban legend she heard in middle school: a woman saw her soulmate just seconds before he was gunned down right in front of her, and since she never got to touch him, her heart glowed for the rest of her life. Could she deal with that? Could Henry?

Realizing that she was about to be late for work, Emma set her musings aside and went about her day usual. Well, apart from the fact that there was a strobe light emanating from her chest. And there were plenty of stares, questions, and awkward looks. A few clients offered congratulations, which Emma accepted with as much grace as she could. One co-worker gave her hearty slap on the shoulder and said he "couldn't wait to see what poor bastard got stuck with you."

Logically Emma knew he was joking, but it still sent a shiver down her spine. She hadn't been enough for her birth parents or for her many foster parents or for Neal; she wasn't even enough for her son, no matter how much he adored her. All she could picture was how crushed her soulmate would be when he realized how used and broken she was. The thought made her want to vomit.

She worked her shift robotically, pausing only for a flavorless lunch that felt like swamp goo in her mouth. Never had she been so aware of her own heartbeat, nor so aware of her own inadequacies. She could almost hear his voice tinged with disgust, "Oh, the universe thinks I should be with you? A foster kid, petty criminal, single mother that nobody ever wanted?"

Her shift ended two and a half hours later, giving her enough time to pick Henry up from his first day. When Emma reached the school parking lot, she found him waiting for her.

"Hi." The man greeted cautiously as she got out of the car and walked up to him. "I'm Killian."

"What are you doing here?" Emma demanded.

Killian glanced at the school, "Given the circumstances of our meeting, I figured you had a child and would be picking them up..." He grimaced, "Alright, that sounds a bit creepy when you say it out loud."

Emma bristled at the way he was looking at her; confused, nervous, hopeful, and longingly all at the same time. She had never elicited so much emotion from a person before. Of course it wasn't really _her_ making him feel that way, but the idea of a perfect person out there who'd make him happy. Like hell that person was her.

"Just cut to the chase." she snapped. His look of hurt made her stomach twist with guilt. She was treating him like crap and the poor guy had done nothing to deserve it. Nervously, she tucked a strand of hair behind her left ear. "Sorry... um... I'm not really good at this."

"What's your name?"

"Emma." She shifted her weight to one foot.

Killian ran a hand through his jet black hair, "I'll admit this isn't how I imagined it would go."

"Momma!" Henry cried as he ran through the gates of the school, waving a piece of paper in his hand. He threw his arms around her legs and grinned up at her. "Hi Momma. Why is your chest all glowy?"

Emma swallowed. She glanced up at Killian for a second, noting the small smile he was holding back, and answered, "Um, I just met my soulmate."

Henry turned around and examined Killian. "You're Momma's soulmate?"

"Aye lad, that I am." Killian replied. "Killian Jones, at your service."

"My name's not Lad." her son giggled, "It's Henry."

Killian laughed along with him, "Well my apologizes _Henry_."

And of course he was good with kids. Wonderful.

Henry tilted his head with an innocent, wide-eyed smile on his face. "So, does that mean you're gonna be my daddy now?"

Shit. _Shit_. Emma felt her knee buckle. Here it came, the moment when he cut and ran. Sure, he had figured out that she was a mother, but actually seeing her with her kid must been something different. Stiffly, Emma looked up at Killian. Instead of looking for the nearest exit, his eyes were wide with some emotion she couldn't make out. Who _was_ this guy?

"Um...I mean..." Killian stuttered. He glanced up at Emma for a clue what to say.

"It's too soon to say." Emma told Henry. "Hey, why don't you wait in the car? I need to talk to Killian alone."

"'kay." Henry waved at Killian. "Bye bye."

Killian waved back. "It was nice to meet you." He looked to Emma, obviously waiting for her to lead the conversation.

"So, we're soulmates, but honestly I've never really believed in that stuff." Emma exhaled sharply. Just rip it off, like a bandage. "Relationships aren't my thing and I'm not going to try to live up to any expectations you might have. I've got my own sh-" Can't swear; there are kids here. "My own problems to deal with."

To his credit, Killian simply nodded. Instinctively Emma knew she'd cut him deeply, but giving him the hard truth was better than making him hope for something she couldn't give him. "I see. Can I at least give you my contact information, in case you change your mind? Whatever we become, that's entirely up to you."

She figured she could at least give him that. "Sure." Emma took her phone out of her purse and held it out to him. Killian hesitated for just a second before taking it from her. His skin brushed against hers softly. The pulsing lights stilled and slowly faded. Emma stood there with her hands in her pockets, feeling crappier by the second. _It's better this way_ , she reminded herself.

When he finished, Emma slipped her phone back in her pocket. For half a heartbeat, she wanted to kiss his cheek, but she fought against it. "Bye." she whispered. Then she turned and walked back to her car, giving him one more apologetic look over her shoulder.


	2. Chapter 2

When mother and son arrived home, Emma sent Henry to his room to do his homework while she cooked dinner. Normally she was too tired to cook and preferred to order take-out, but Emma needed a distraction from the day's events. She used up what few ingredients they had in the kitchen making a chicken and pasta recipe she found online. _Which means grocery shopping tomorrow_ , she thought with a sigh.

While waiting for the dish to finish cooking, Emma decided to do some cleaning. The place was getting rather cluttered, which was especially inconvenient considering how tiny the apartment was. In the middle of clearing away Henry's toys, Emma heard a loud, rapid knocking on the door.

Lily Page, who lived a few doors down, stood on the other side, arms crossed and a little amused. While Emma wasn't close to any of her neighbors, she took special care to avoid Lily. Lily was rather depressing to be around and tended to bring bad luck with her. And then there was the _sole_ time Emma had trusted her to watch Henry during a work emergency.

"Hey Lily." Emma said without enthusiasm. "Need something?"

"So, are you like a princess now?" Lily tilted her head, with one eyebrow raised. Emma stared at her, not comprehending. Scoffing, Lily let herself in and went straight for Emma's laptop.

Emma protested, "Hey!", but at that moment the oven timer went off. Emma sighed, turned to the kitchen, and took dinner out before it burned. "Henry! Food's ready."

"Wow, he's _so_ hot." Lily looked up from the laptop and smirked. "Lucky you, Swan."

Henry came out of his room, somewhat surprised to see his neighbor casually sitting on the couch using his mother's laptop. "Hi Miss Page."

"S'up squirt. Oh sorry, Prince Squirt."

Growing ever impatient, Emma put her hands on her hips, "What are you going on about? What are you even doing here?"

"Relax, I just came to offer to congrats on snagging on a fu-" Emma glared at her "a prince. Prince Killian Jones of Arendelle. Seriously, you won the soulmate lottery. Look, you're all over the internet." She turned the computer screen to Emma, showing picture after picture of her standing with Killian outside Henry's school. There were also a few with Henry himself.

Emma felt her insides turn to ice. Vaguely, she was aware of Henry running up to Lily and asking to look at Killian's picture, but that seemed a million miles away.

Prince Killian Jones of Arendelle. Prince Killian Jones. Prince.

"Excuse me." she said in a watery voice. Fumbling for her cell phone for a second, Emma raced into Henry's room and closed the door behind her. She forced down a sob at having to hide in her son's room; she let him have the one bedroom she could afford while she slept on the couch. And Killian was apparently _royalty_.

Furiously, she scrolled for his number and pressed "Call". He answered on the first ring. "Emma?" he asked anxiously.

She sank to the floor, gathering her thoughts. "Are you a prince?"

"...Yes." Killian answered sheepishly. "My cousin Elsa is the queen of Arendelle."

Emma could almost picture him shrugging, perhaps fiddling with his collar. It was one thing hear it from Lily and another to hear it from Killian himself. He just casually mentioned that his cousin was a head of state. That he exchanged Christmas gifts with a queen.

"And you couldn't have warned me?" She tried to sound cold. But her anger was already dissipating, so she just sounded whiny and awkward.

"I'm sorry, Emma." Killian replied. The sincerity in his voice made her legs weak. "I was afraid of scaring you off. You already had one foot out the door and I was afraid dropping something like this would get you running."

He wasn't wrong, Emma begrudgingly admitted to herself. She leaned her head against the door and closed her eyes. "So now I'm on the internet, apparently."

"I swear, I had no intention of anyone finding out-"

Emma interrupted him, "I'm not angry with you, if that's what you're worried about. I get it - the whole soulmate thing is pretty conspicuous and you're a high-profile guy." Her eyes flew open when it struck her that she was now a high-profile girl, a real-life Cinderella. "Oh shit, I'm gonna get roped into this royalty thing, aren't I? Fuck."

"I promise I'll do what I can to keep you and Henry out of the spotlight." Killian swore. The fact that he remembered her son's name shouldn't have made her feel so warm, but it did. And that said some rather unpleasant things about her love life.

"Thank you. Look, dinner's getting cold. Can I call you tomorrow?"

"Yes. Tomorrow sounds- Regina!"

Emma heard a brief struggle before the smooth voice of a woman entered her ear. "Hello, this is Regina Mills, a friend of Prince Killian's. You're his soulmate, Emma, correct?"

"Yes?" Emma answered hesitantly.

Regina's words came fast and slick, like a particularly heavy downpour. "Listen Miss Emma, please don't take this the wrong way, but we can't exactly take this slow. News travels fast and the longer we wait to make an official statement, the more suspicious the public will. I know, it's ridiculous, but that's just want to know everything as it's happening; you know how it is. Anyway, I'm going to set up a press conference for tomorrow night."

"Wait." Emma's head spun trying to keep up with her. "I can't just leave and hold a press conference, I have a five year old at home."

"We'll send someone to watch the little tyke." Regina replied blithely.

"I'll have to go to work afterwards." Emma knew she was fishing for excuses, but she couldn't help it.

After a pause, Regina gave a little laugh, "Miss Emma, you're practically a princess now. You don't need a day job anymore."

"I'm his soulmate, not his wife." Emma replied somewhat bitterly. She grimaced. "Fine."

"Trust me Miss Emma, it's for the best." Regina told her in a softer tone. "Now, I just need your address. And your measurements. And your last name."

* * *

Emma wrung her hands together anxiously. She sat in front of a mirror, half a dozen lights shining in her eyes, as the hair stylist fixed her blonde hair into a elegant knot. In the corner of her eye she could see the likely thousand dollar dress Regina Mills had picked out. Her stomach flipped at the thought of wearing something so expensive.

"Nervous?" Mary Margaret, the personal assistant assigned her, entered the room. She had a sweet voice and a warm smile, and Emma liked her right away.

"A bit." She admitted.

Mary Margaret leaned against the vanity mirror. "You wanna know a trick my dad taught me? Take your greatest weaknesses and spin them in your favor. You're nervous? Be so endearing awkward that people find it adorable. Don't know how to act in fancy state functions? Remind them you're a modern Cinderella and still learning the ropes."

"Wow, thanks." Emma smiled sincerely.

"Now let's get you into that dress." Mary Margaret answered back with a smile of her own.

Regina's choice of outfit was simple and conservative, elegant but not too formal: a knee-length peach-beige number that hung loosely from her body, with a slightly darker shawl draping her shoulders. It felt frighteningly soft and delicate, and Emma shuddered at the thought of accidentally tearing it or getting it dirty. Along with the dress, she got a pearl necklace and earring set; like something a dignified dowager on television would wear. She didn't even dare look at herself in the mirror; she already felt like a little girl playing dress-up.

Not long after Emma finished getting dressed, Regina, stunning in her burgundy suit and dark make-up, came to fetch her. "Enjoying your Princess Diaries moment?" Regina remarked.

Emma gave a tight smile in response.

At the end of the hall, Killian stood waiting with his entourage. His suit jacket and pants were light brown, but his tie was the exact same shade as her dress. And, she noticed upon closer inspection, he wore a white watch that fit right in with her pearls. Oh god, Regina put them in matching outfits.

"Ready to go?" Killian said with raised eyebrows. He had a lighter air about him, like he was more at ease. This was his world after all. He'd been dealing with the press since he was kid, Emma surmised.

He extended his arm to her, and Emma slowly accepted. This was the closest she had ever been to him; close enough to notice a faint scar on his cheek. She'd have to ask him about that later.

Together, Emma and Killian stepped into the main, and a thousand cameras flashed at once.


	3. Chapter 3

Following Mary Margaret's advice was more difficult than Emma had anticipated. She felt awkward in her borrowed dress, sitting next to Killian like she was in love with him and answering all kinds of invasive questions; all under the watchful eyes of a hundred reporters. Still, she kept her smile and tried to be as poised as she could. Beside her, Killian handled the reporters like a pro. Emma wished Regina had given her more time to prepare.

Only one question made her temporarily lose her cool: "Can you tell us something about your son?"

Emma pressed her lips together and glared at the reporter so hard he turned as white as her pearl necklace. "That's private." she snapped, her cold, hard tone making it clear that pressing the issue wouldn't lead anywhere. The other reporters took note and turned the conversation to other topics.

The whole thing ended in only an hour, less time than it took to get ready for it, but all the fake smiles and answering questions diplomatically left Emma feeling drained. She and Killian thanked the press for their time and posed for a few photos, the very image of a classy royal couple. Killian led her from the ballroom by the arm; unconsciously, Emma leaned against him for support.

"Are you feeling alright?" Killian asked. He still looked as remarkable poised as ever, like he hadn't just let a bunch of complete strangers pick apart his love life.

Emma nodded. "I'm guessing this is a regular thing?"

"More or less." he replied. "Public appearance are part of the package. But like I said earlier, I'll try to keep all the media intrusion to a minimum. You and Henry will want all the privacy you can get." Killian added somewhat wistfully.

When they made it to a backroom, of course Regina was there to greet them. She crossed her arm and smirked. "Not bad for your first press conference, but you'll definitely need practice. Maybe a voice coach? Now, I've taken the liberty of moving you and your son to a room here-"

"Wait, what?" Emma snapped. "Henry's here?"

"Well I couldn't just let you go back to that dump, especially not when everyone is going to be following you around."

 _That dump_? Sure, it was a dump, but having someone else say it out loud felt like a punch in the gut. It made her feel like dirt, like a failure.

Emma grit her teeth, her neck flush with embarrassment and anger. "You had no right to just move my kid around without me knowing!"

Regina shook her head incredulously, "Don't tell me you want to go back there?"

"No." Emma admitted.

"So what's the problem?" Regina's lips twisted to show her confusion.

Killian said gently, "If you don't want to stay here, we can get you a room somewhere else."

Emma took a moment and counted to ten in her head. She had earned that apartment with her own money, small and crappy as it may be. And now they were just handing her things like some helpless damsel swept up in the grandeur of royal life. Everything she had was _hers_. That was someone people like Killian and Regina, people born with silver spoons in their mouths, would never understand. _That dump_. She didn't need them babying her.

But then again, hadn't she complained about her apartment earlier?

"Forget it. I just...overreacted." she muttered, still embarrassed. "What room did you stick us in?"

"1445. From now on I'll do my best to let you know ahead of time if I have to move Henry." Regina answered. She handed Emma a hotel key. "Kathryn, one of my assistants, already put him to bed. We'll have to get him a nanny, you know."

"Thanks." Emma said. It felt weird to know that someone she'd never met had taken care of her kid; and even weirder to know she'd have to hire another stranger to continue doing so. "Look, I'm gonna hit the hay. See you in the morning." She turned on her heel and walked out. Mary Margaret stood on the opposite side of the door. She looked ready to say something, but Emma waved her off. "I can't talk right now. See you in the morning?"

"Oh! Um, alright." Mary Margaret answered, disappointed. She nodded once, and stepped aside to let Emma pass.

Opening the door to the suite Regina had given her, Emma gawked. It was easily larger than her entire apartment, marble-floored and twice as furnished; a place like this couldn't possibly belong in the same universe as the grimy motel rooms she and Neal had broken into during their whirlwind romance/crime spree. She didn't even want to assume how much anything cost. Emma pressed her back to the door and fell to the ground, holding back the urge to cry. She wasn't even sure why she felt tears trying to pour out of her eyes; she was numb and highly emotional at the same time.

She didn't belong here. This huge cosmic joke, her being a prince's soulmate, becoming Cinderella, didn't feel like a fairy tale; it felt like getting thrown into the open ocean and trying to swim to shore. Nothing in her life stayed good for long, a fact that she had long resigned to. How long before this princess-for-a-day fantasy crashed and burned?

"Momma?" Henry's drowsy voice took Emma out of her dark thoughts. "You okay?"

"Momma's fine, sweetheart." Emma lied. She picked herself up off the floor and gathered her son into her arms. "You need to go back to sleep. You have school in the morning."

Henry snuggled against her shoulder and she carried him to what she assumed was his new room. "I like it here. It's very pretty." he yawned. He wheezed a little, sending Emma into a mild panic. Then his breathing become regular again, much to her relief.

"You're right," she agreed. Emma tucked him back into bed and kissed his forehead. "Sleep tight, Henry."

When she left the room, Emma felt resolve hit her. If she tolerated all this soulmate business and her own insecurities, Henry would have the kind of future she couldn't even dream of. He was her only family, the person she loved most in the world. She'd hold a hundred press conferences, squeeze into a thousand uncomfortable gowns, and fake a smile for the rest of her life if it meant he'd never suffer the way she had.


	4. Chapter 4

Morning came. Emma went about her morning routine as normally as she could in the opulent hotel room. Regina had brought all of their clothes and personal belongings, including Emma's beloved yellow bug, the night before leaving behind only the furniture and appliances. She had even been careful to hand-deliver Emma's baby blanket. All Emma had to do was wait for her lease to be up. Emma made a note to thank Regina for at least trying to make the transition easier.

Emma drove Henry to school much like she had done the past two days, trying not to ponder at the enormity of the changes that had occurred in that span of time. Only this morning, with the press conference still fresh in everyone's minds, she didn't walk with him up to the gate from fear of getting mobbed by paparazzi. It made her heart sit heavily in her chest.

Driving back to the hotel was a surreal experience. Every cell in her body screamed that she had to go to work, but Regina had already sent resignation papers to both her employers. She was a prince's soulmate, poised to someday marry him and become princess of a country she didn't know existed a week ago. She couldn't exactly just go back to answering calls and waiting tables. So what the hell was she suppose to do all day? Make out with Killian in front of the cameras? Sitting in that hotel room doing nothing wasn't an inviting prospect.

Not long after going back to her suite, Mary Margaret knocked on Emma's door. She looked as bright and cheery as she had the night before. "Good morning Emma. Is Henry already at school?"

"Morning. Yeah, I just dropped him off." Emma answered. "Please, come in."

"Thank you." Mary Margaret smiled. She removed a large, thick envelope from her oversized handbag and gave it to Emma. "Regina wanted me to give you this."

Emma smiled, "She runs a tight ship, doesn't she?"

"Like you wouldn't believe. I don't know where we'd be without her." Mary Margaret nodded, "That's Killian's itinerary while he's in the States. I know last night's press conference was a lot to handle, so Regina thought it best if you took it easy the rest of the time and chose which events you wanted to attend. You don't have to go to any of them if you don't want to. We weren't really expecting you."

"Well, I wasn't expecting this either." Emma admitted, flipping through the pages of the huge document. Charity events, concerts, red carpet appearances, public appearance, diplomatic meetings, speeches, summits, television spots. It all made her feel very small. She didn't know what to do at any of them. Some time in the future, maybe, she'd strut around on Killian's arm while he charmed the pants off other rich and powerful people. A pretty little trophy wife.

 _You're doing this for Henry_ , she reminded herself.

"I mean, you don't have to decide right now." Mary Margaret stated gently.

Emma let out a dry laugh, "I'm really not sure what to do here. This stuff seems a bit... different from what I'm used to. But I don't have anything to do so..."

"Killian's gonna be in the States for about a month, so just think of this as a vacation until you go to Arendelle."

"What?" Emma's jaw dropped. Just leave the country? In a month? Henry still had school and neither of them had passports.

Mary Margaret fumbled for words, her manner now sheepish, "I just assumed... um... Sorry, forget that. You might want to talk to Killian about that."

"I will." Emma gave her a tight smile. "You can leave, or whatever. I can handle this."

"Alright. Just call if you need anything." With that, Mary Margaret left Emma to her thoughts.

* * *

Killian scrolled through the long e-mail Elsa had sent him without really reading it. His dear cousin meant well, but he really wasn't in the mood for a lecture on how best to introduce his soulmate the rest of Europe's aristocracy; or on getting someone to teach her necessary social graces and methods of handling the press; or on planning for the future and getting her and Henry integrated into the family.

Right now he was just trying to get Emma to like him.

The memory of getting Marked burned brightly in his memory. That boating accident, the one that had claimed his brother's life and his left hand, had made it possible for him to meet his other half. That's how he got through it all - the funeral, the physical therapy, the drinking, the _pity_. Somewhere in the world was a woman who'd fit perfectly in his arms; who'd be his sunrise and sunset; who'd chase away the shadows that had plagued him since his boyhood. She was staying in a hotel room one floor down and she wanted nothing to do with him.

Whenever he closed his eyes, he saw the look of shock and horror on her face when they learned they were soulmates. He saw her get into her car and flee without a backwards glance. Kristoff and Anna had tried to talk him through him, to help him make sense of what just happened because that was _not_ what was suppose to happen. He had just waved them off, told them to hurry so they wouldn't miss their flight back to Arendelle.

"Your Highness," a secret service agent pulled him out of his thoughts. "Please pardon my interruption. Miss Emma Swan wishes to see you."

That was a surprise. He had assumed she'd avoid him unless they were forced to interact. "Oh. Good. Let her in." He stood up from the desk when Emma entered the suite's master bedroom.

"You have this whole place to yourself?" Emma exclaimed.

"Well, Regina thought it's make you more comfortable." he explained.

A line formed between Emma's eyebrows. "Make _me_ comfortable?"

"We've only just met. I don't imagine you'd be comfortable sleeping in a bed with a man you barely know." Only after those words left his mouth, Killian realized she was probably referring to the sheer size of the suite, not the fact that they weren't sharing it.

She blushed pink and avoided his eyes. "Uh, yeah."

"How's Henry?" Killian interjected, desperate to change the topic. "Is he adjusting to all this just fine? I haven't seen him in a while."

"He's doing great. He loves it here." Bittersweet wistfulness tinted her words. "I'm gonna pick him up from school in like an hour. Look, I wanted to talk to you about our future."

Christ, this was not a conversation he was ready to have. "O-our future?" Killian stammered.

"Mary Margaret mentioned that you were going to return to Arendelle in a month, and that I was expected to follow you there."

"Going back to Arendelle was the plan, but plans can be changed." Killian answered, hoping he didn't sound to eager to please. "Henry still has school to attend, and leaving him alone with a nanny while you leave the country doesn't seem like a very favorable option."

Her face showed pleasant surprise. Oh god, she lit up the whole room. "That's exactly what I was worried about. I'm so relieved you get it."

"I can talk to Regina; find a way around my engagements back home. We can look for a new place here in Boston, near his school. I can't promise there'll never be some separations in the future, but for now it should be a simple matter to let you carry on your lives as usual. At least, with minimal disturbance."

Emma smiled timidly, looking rather embarrassed, "I... I don't really have a life besides working and taking care of Henry. I don't know what to do with myself anymore."

"I'm sure Regina could find-"

"No." she shook her head, "I don't want to be a burden."

Killian let her words sink in for a moment. "Emma, it's what she gets paid to do."

"I'll find a hobby or something." Emma crossed her arms, frowning.

"Alright. If that's what you want to do, it's fine by me." Killian conceded. The last he wanted was for her to be upset with him over anything. That afternoon in the school parking lot, she'd made it clear that she wasn't interested in being his romantic partner, but maybe-

"I don't need your approval." Emma replied with a slightly angry shrug. He could almost see the high walls around her heart growing just a little bit higher. She turned and marched out without saying goodbye.

Killian sank back down into his office chair and put his face in his hands. "Fuck." he muttered through his fingers. Was this all they'd ever have? Brief, prudent conversations and separate beds?


End file.
